The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for data input and, more specifically, to methods and apparatus for data input to computers and other electronic instruments.
Pointing devices are common touch sensitive input devices for computers, laptops, cell phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), and other electronic devices. Users may employ a pointing device, such as a mouse, trackball, track point, touchpad, or touch screen, to move a cursor on the screen to make selections.
Nestled between the G, H, and B keys on many laptop computers is a pointing stick. The pointing stick, often referred to as “the little red button”, may be used for moving a mouse pointer with an index finger. A TrackPoint® device consists of the pointing stick and three buttons, which are situated at the center, below the space bar, and may be pushed with a thumb. The left button and right button may correspond to a left and right mouse button. When a user moves the pointing stick while pushing the center button below the space bar, a scroll function may be activated.
A typical touchpad consists of one touch sensor and two buttons that are situated below the touch sensor. Touchpads offer a promise of having a spatial correspondence to the surface of the computer screen, so as the finger moves around the touchpad, the cursor or pointer on the screen moves correspondingly to a new position.
In recent years, “click touchpad” or “click pad” technology has been developed which allows touchpads, touch screens, and other touch sensors to provide tactile feedback by being at least partially depressible or “clickable.” The “click” may be purely tactile feedback or may be used to generate a signal that is used by the electronic system in which the click pad is installed.
Therefore, it can be seen that there is a continuing need for improvements in input devices, including those using click pad technology. In particular, there is a need for a better user experience with a simple looking and economical input device.